Interlude
by Aedammair
Summary: What was supposed to be a short excursion across the galaxy turned into a two day cat and mouse game with the Ori. Thank goodness Cameron has Aeda Harrison to back him up... a Dr. Aeda Harrison oneshot.


Okay, so the show's over and the characters have gone about their merry ways in typical happy ending fashion. My Aeda Harrison storyline hasn't changed (yet) so for a recap: Daniel is still ascended, the team is still working out of Stargate Command, Sam is still heading over to the Pegasus Galaxy eventually, Jack is still in DC and occasionally visiting so he can shag Sam, and Aeda is still in Boston, teaching at Harvard.

This is a one-shot, a little bit of adventure for the good Dr. Harrison because she's bored in Boston and decided to visit the boys in Colorado. Leave it to Cameron and Teal'c to turn a short excursion across the galaxy into a crazy adventure.

Disclaimer: Only Aeda is mine and should you ask very nicely, you may use her. :)

Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews!

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Not for the first time in his military career, Cameron Mitchell has found himself in a situation with an exit he can't readily identify. There are three Ori foot soldiers and they're all pointing electrical weapons at him that could, very possibly, char him beyond recognition if they all connect with his vulnerable flesh at the same instant.

It isn't a situation he would have picked for himself, that's for sure.

'So, boys, how about a game of poker before you fricassee me? Winner walks away a free man, loser becomes a well done burger.'

The Ori staff weapons open and he can smell the ozone in the air. He closes his eyes, begins to count to ten.

_One, two, three, four, five…_

The report of bullets fills the air and he drops to the ground, his aching body relishing in the weightlessness that lying down gives him. He's been running for too long on a concussion and some broken ribs – parting gifts from the two Ori foot soldiers that had captured him two days earlier. When the shooting stops, he opens his eyes and finds the most surprising of heroes standing above him.

Aeda Harrison's beautiful freckled face is staring down at him, a smile covering the concern on her soft features.

'Fancy meeting you here,' she says.

He's speechless, dazed and confused by the turn of events.

She's holding onto his shoulder with strength he didn't know she possessed and when she smiles down at him once more, he makes the conscious decision to never again underestimate her. He's seen what happens when she's underestimated and he doesn't want to end up on the wrong side of it – he's never been smacked in the head by a shovel and he'd prefer to keep it that way.

'This is the part where you thank me for saving your life,' she says as her smile widens and reaches the corners of her brown eyes.

Gently, almost tenderly, she helps him up and into a sitting position and when he cradles his aching head in his aching hands, she puts a cool hand against the back of his neck and he wants to hug her.

'Thank you for saving my life,' he says with a wry smile.

'You're welcome.'

'Where'd you learn to shoot like that?' he asks, vaguely motioning towards the dead foot soldiers at the edge of the clearing. He turns his head slightly and looks at her with cloudy eyes. She shrugs.

'I'm the daughter of a Navy Admiral and the goddaughter of an Air Force General. You tell _me_ where you think I learned to shoot like that.'

He laughs softly, more of a cough than a laugh, and holds out his hand. 'Good point. Help me up.'

She pulls him into a standing position and supports him with an arm around his back. She smells like dirt and dead leaves and adrenaline, but underneath there's the smell of lilacs he's come to associate with her. Occasionally, when Carolyn is ignoring him in an attempt to convince herself she doesn't find his boyish good looks completely devastating, he thinks of Aeda in a way he's not supposed to, considering she's his (dead and ascended) best friend's fiancé.

He's only a man, afterall.

Now, with her body pressed against his, helping him towards the gate where he can see Teal'c waiting for them, he thinks not for the first time that Daniel Jackson is one hell of a lucky man, even if he is dead and ascended.

'You smell good,' he says absently and she laughs at him.

'I think you hit your head when you landed,' she says and he laughs.

Teal'c takes his weight from Aeda's shoulders and she leads them through the gate. When they reach Stargate Command, General Landry is waiting for them, as is the medical team. Carolyn worries over him and he's grateful for the distraction.

'Adventurous excursion, Dr. Harrison?' General Landry asks and even from the stretcher, with his body rebelling against him, Cam laughs at the understatement.

'These boys know how to show a girl a good time,' Aeda says and smiles past the General to Cam's prone form.

_Yep_, Cam thinks as the medical team prepares to wheel him away, _Dan's a lucky man_.

Carolyn is frowning at him and he can't resist smiling at her. 'You're still incredibly hot when you frown,' he tells her with that boyish smile he knows she fights so hard to ignore and her frown deepens. 'See? Right there. Hot.'

She laughs lightly and kisses his cheek. 'I'm glad you're okay,' she says.

_Then again_, he thinks as she takes his hand and walks beside his gurney, _I'm pretty lucky myself_.


End file.
